BOULDER, Colo. — A Boulder outdoor equipment store has been named one of the 50 best clothing stores in the United States by the New York Times. Montbell is a Japanese company, and the Boulder store is its only one in the U.S.

Montbell's website says it produces all of the 5,200 products it sells in-house with the guiding Japanese philosophy of kinobi , which can be translated as "function is beauty."

The company sells alpine clothing, fleeces, hiking boots and shoes, backpacks, fishing gear, climbing gear, and even camping chopsticks. The New York Times describes it like this:

Montbell, the Japanese cousin of Patagonia founded by Isamu Tatsuno, has only one store in the United States. Wardrobe gems like fleece tabi slippers, down pants, ripstop tote bags and outdoor hats for a va

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